Chapter 4 - The Brother in the Photograph
Diane stepped away from Ravi.
Everything that had felt uncertain suddenly felt dangerous again.
“My father told me not to trust you.”
Ravi didn’t move.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
“You said the recording was unclear.”
“It was. But I remember now.”
Catherine looked between them.
Ravi remained calm.
Too calm.
Diane hated that calmness.
“Maybe you’ve been lying from the beginning.”
“About what?”
“Everything.”
“I showed you your father’s files.”
“Files you controlled.”
“I took you to the bank.”
“You knew the box existed.”
“No.”
“How do I know that?”
“You don’t.”
Diane’s voice cracked.
“That’s exactly the problem.”
She turned toward Sadi’s room.
“We’re leaving.”
Ravi stepped aside rather than stopping her.
That surprised Diane.
“You’re letting us go?”
“You’re not a prisoner.”
“Then don’t follow us.”
Ravi’s expression tightened.
“I can’t promise that.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor is still looking for you.”
Diane stared at him.
“Or maybe you are.”
She took Sadi to a hotel under a false name.
Catherine unexpectedly went with them.
“I don’t trust you,” Diane told her.
“That makes two of us.”
“What does that mean?”
Catherine looked ashamed.
“I don’t trust myself very much right now either.”
For the first time, Diane saw something beneath Catherine’s polished exterior.
Regret.
“I almost got you hurt because I wanted revenge over an insult.”
“You did.”
“I know.”
Catherine swallowed.
“I’m sorry.”
Diane wasn’t ready to forgive her.
But she believed the apology was real.
At 2:14 a.m., someone knocked on the hotel door.
Diane froze.
Catherine grabbed her phone.
Sadi woke.
“Who is it?”
A male voice answered.
“Adrian Greedy.”
Diane’s blood ran cold.
Catherine whispered, “Don’t open it.”
Adrian spoke again.
“I know Ravi told you I’m dangerous.”
“He didn’t,” Diane called.
“Then he hasn’t told you enough.”
Diane looked through the peephole.
The man from the photograph stood alone.
Hands visible.
No weapon.
“Why are you here?”
“Because Victor wants you to believe Ravi killed your parents.”
Diane’s heart pounded.
“And did he?”
“No.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“You shouldn’t.”
The same answer Ravi had given.
These brothers were more alike than either probably wanted to admit.
Adrian continued.
“But I can prove something Ravi can’t.”
“What?”
“Your father’s complete voicemail.”
Diane opened the door with the security chain still attached.
Adrian held up a small recorder.
“Thomas called me the night he died.”
“Why?”
“Because he thought I was helping Victor.”
“Were you?”
“Yes.”
Diane stared.
Adrian’s expression filled with shame.
“I didn’t understand what Victor was planning. I thought we were stealing money from Ravi. When I discovered Victor intended to silence Thomas, I tried to warn him.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
Adrian held out the recorder.
“Believe Thomas.”
Diane took it through the gap.
She pressed play.
Her father’s voice.
Clearer than the voicemail on her old phone.
“Diane, if you get this, listen carefully. Something has gone wrong. Adrian tried to warn me. Ravi doesn’t know the full truth yet. Don’t trust Ravi’s organization until he knows who betrayed him.”
Diane closed her eyes.
Not don’t trust Ravi.
Don’t trust Ravi’s organization.
The distinction changed everything.
Thomas continued.
“Victor has someone close to Ravi. Someone feeding him information.”
The recording ended.
Diane looked at Adrian.
“Who?”
“I never knew.”
“Then why disappear?”
“Because Victor tried to frame me.”
Adrian’s voice hardened.
“And Ravi believed him.”
Diane opened the door.
For the next hour, Adrian explained.
Three years earlier, he had discovered Victor stealing from Ravi. Instead of telling his brother, Adrian had foolishly decided to steal from Victor in return.
Then Thomas Harper discovered both operations.
Victor panicked.
Adrian tried to warn Thomas.
But somebody leaked Thomas’s location.
The car accident happened hours later.
“Who knew where my parents were going?” Diane asked.
“Victor.”
“Who else?”
“Me.”
Diane’s eyes narrowed.
“And Ravi.”
Silence.
Catherine asked, “So any of you could have done it.”
“Yes.”
Adrian looked directly at Diane.
“But there was one other person.”
“Who?”
“Ravi’s chief security officer.”
Diane remembered the ballroom.
The guards appearing instantly.
The man who had escorted her toward the exit.
“What’s his name?”
“Marcus Vale.”
Diane’s stomach dropped.
She had seen Marcus again yesterday.
At Ravi’s tower.
He had delivered the envelope containing Sadi’s photograph.
“What if he didn’t receive that envelope?” Diane whispered.
Adrian understood immediately.
“What if he created it?”
Catherine stood.
“We need to tell Ravi.”
“No,” Adrian said.
“Why?”
“Because Marcus has been beside Ravi for twelve years. Ravi trusts him more than almost anyone.”
Diane looked at her phone.
She had a message from Ravi.
Are you safe?
She didn’t answer.
Then another appeared.
Diane, Marcus is missing.
Her blood chilled.
A third message.
Check Sadi immediately.
Diane ran into the adjoining room.
The bed was empty.
“Sadi?”
No answer.
Bathroom empty.
Balcony locked.
Diane screamed her sister’s name.
Catherine rushed in.
Then Diane saw the open service door beside the hallway.
On Sadi’s pillow sat the stuffed rabbit.
And beneath it was a note.
Bring Thomas Harper’s drive to Pier 19. Come alone.
Diane’s legs nearly gave way.
Adrian read the message.
“Victor.”
“No.”
Diane stared at the handwriting.
She had seen it before.
On security paperwork at Ravi’s office.
“This isn’t Victor.”
Adrian looked at her.
“How do you know?”
Diane raised her eyes.
“Marcus wrote this.”
Her phone rang.
Ravi.
She answered.
“Diane?”
“They took Sadi.”
Silence.
Then Ravi’s voice changed.
Not loud.
Not angry.
Terrifyingly controlled.
“Who?”
“Marcus.”
Another pause.
Then Ravi said something Diane would never forget.
“Marcus died eight months ago.”
Diane stopped breathing.
“What?”
“The man you met at my tower wasn’t Marcus.”
“Then who was he?”
Ravi answered.
“I don’t know.”
From behind Diane came a sound.
A gunshot-like crack—
not from a weapon, but the hotel room’s heavy lamp crashing to the floor as Catherine stumbled backward.
She pointed toward Adrian.
His sleeve had shifted.
On his wrist was a tattoo.
Diane recognized the symbol from her father’s files.
The same symbol appeared beside every account controlled by Victor Dane.
Adrian slowly looked down at it.
Then back at Diane.
And smiled.
May you like
“You really are Thomas Harper’s daughter.”
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